New petrol cars could cost £10,000 MORE to run than electric vehicles over lifetime, study says
This would cost owners nearly £10,000 over a petrol car's 14-year lifetime - and more if users keep their car for longer.
The majority of the cost difference is due to the price of fuel compared with charging an electric vehicle, but servicing and tax were also taken into account.
UK-based non-profit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) came to the figure by comparing costs for the top 10 selling petrol vehicles such as the Vauxhall Corsa, Mini and Nissan Juke, with their electric vehicle equivalents.
Many drivers are put off from buying an electric vehicle due to their high price and cost of car insurance. But Goldman Sachs estimated the price of batteries will drop by 40% from 2022 to 2025 which should lower their price tag.
NimbleFins also previously reported how cheaper EVs were coming onto the market, with used EV sales doubling in a year.
ECIU transport analyst Colin Walker said: "With drivers being hit by a £700 petrol premium, a switch to an EV will see a quick return on the investment made.
"However, since less than 20% of car sales in the UK are for new vehicles, it's the growth of the second-hand EV market that is critical if more families are to be able to access the cheaper driving than comes from EV ownership."
The Government needs to ramp up the sale of EVs, with a target to ensure 22 percent of new cars sold by each manufacturer are zero-emission in 2024.
The quota will rise every year until it reaches 100 percent in 2035.
If manufacturers don't meet targets they will be fined £15,000 for each polluting car sold over its quota.
Mr Walker believes these targets will further increase the number of EVs entering the second hand car market, making them more accessible for those with lower budgets.
The RAC wants more done to make EVs affordable, suggesting resuming the plug-in car grant which enabled people to claim up to £1,500 towards the cost of a plug-in car costing less than £32,000. It was scrapped in June 2022.
It also wants VAT cut on public chargers to make it more affordable to charge.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: "It remains the case that more needs to be done to reduce the cost of acquiring electric cars in the first place, so they become a more natural choice for people."
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